Bottle wiper



A. A. JACOBS BOTTLE WIPER Dec. :15, 1942.

Filed Sept. 9, 1940 2 mi mm gm Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I BOTTLE WIPER 1 V I "Albert A. Jacobs, Minneapolis, Application September 9, 1940, Serial No. 355,914

1 Claim.

This invention relates to bottle squeegees for wiping off the water on bottled goods such as beer, soda pop and the like.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a novel and improved bottle squeegee of simple and cheap construction which can be effectively used to wipe the exterior surface of the bottle so that after the squeegee has operated on the bottle, the bottle will be substantially free from moisture and can be handled without wetting the hands of the bottle handler.

The objects and advantages of the invention Will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating an embodiment of the invention; 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a view on a reduced scale, showing the manner of use of the squeegee in wiping a bottle, the squeegee being shown in one position relative to the bottle in full lines and in another position relative to the bottle in dotted lines, and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a portion of a bottle and a portion of the squeegee, illustrating the wiping action of the squeegee against the surface of the bottle.

In accordance with my invention I provide an annular frame 5 made preferably from heavy wire, this frame having from one side thereof a projecting handle H whereby the squeegee can be held in the hand of an operator or it can be secured in permanent position as to a bottle cooling device or the like. Carried by the frame 5 is a stretched, elastic diaphragm 6 made preferably of rather soft rubber or similar material. The outer portion of this diaphragm is preferably somewhat heavier than the inner portion and the diaphragm at its outer edge forms an annular chamber within which the frame 5 is received, the frame being preferably vulcanized to the rubber of the diaphragm 6. At its central portion the diaphragm 6 is provided with a bottlereceiving aperture I. Surrounding this aperture, preferably at both sides of the diaphragm, are a plurality of concentric ribs 8, 9 and It], also formed of elastic material and preferably of rubber. In the illustrated embodiment, three ribs are shown on each face of the diaphragm and the ribs are circular, the rib 8 being located at the inner edge of the diaphragm, the rib 9 being spaced outwardly somewhat from the rib 8, and the rib [0 being preferably spaced outwardly from the rib 9 approximately the same distance as the spacing between the two ribs 8 and 9.

It is common practice to cool beer and soda pop before serving the same. In many of these coolers the bottled goods are placed in ice water, while in other coolers moisture accumulates on the surfaces of the bottles through condensation. It is desirable to free the surfaces of these bottles from the moisture before serving the bottled goods in the original bottles, and for this purpose the bottle squeegee of the present invention is employed. Either the bottle may be held in fixed position and the squeegee passed on down over the surface of the bottle with the bottle passing through the bottle-receiving aperture 1 of the squeegee, or the squeegee may be held in a fixed position and the bottle may be passed up through the aperture 1 in the squeegee or down through the aperture in the squeegee. In any case the head of the bottle, such as the bottle B illustrated, I

is first passed into the aperture 1 of the" dia-- phragm 6 and as the relative movement between the squeegee and bottle continues, the diaphragm 6 stretches to enlarge the bottle-receiving aperture l and to cause that portion of the diaphragm adjacent the aperture to first assume the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, and to thereafter cause it to assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 as the diaphragm works over the portions of the bottle of greater circumference than the neck. As the squeegee works over the bottle, for examplefrom top to bottom of the bottle, the diaphragm 6 bulges upwardly so as to bring the surfaces of the ribs 8, 9 and I0, normally on the bottom of the diaphragm, into direct contact with the surface of the bottle. These ribs 8, 9 and I0 have a conjoint action in clearing the bottle of water, inasmuch as when the rib I0 works over the surface it carries part of the water downwardly ahead of it, whereupon the rib- 9 acts upon the same portion of the surface to wipe further portions of the water away, and thereupon the surface 8 acts over the same portion of the surface to clear off all of the remaining Water from this surface. A considerable portion of the water not removed by the first acting rib I0 is confined between the second acting rib 9 and the first acting rib lfl'to lubricate the action of the second rib 9 around the entire surface of the bottle as well as to clear the surface of the bottle much more effectively than can be the case when but one rib is employed. In like manner the ribs 9 and 8 cooperate to confine what little Water there is left on the surface between these two ribs to lubricate the action of the third acting rib 8 and produce a thorough drying action. With one sweep of the squeegee over the exterior of the bottle, the entire bottle surface is wiped dry and it becomes unnecessary to pass the bottle through the aperture 1 of the squeegee more than once. Ribs are preferably provided on both surfaces of the diaphragm 6 so that irrespective of which direction the bottle passes through the aperture 1, proper drying action will result.

or course, as one of the ribs 8, 9 or [0 works over the surface of the bottle, the advancing edge of the rib extends substantially at right angles to the portion of the surface being wiped and effective wiping action results.

It will be seen that an effective bottle squeegee has been provided of cheap and simple construction.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departure from the scope of the present invention, which, generally stated, consists in the matter shown and described, and set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A bottle squeegee comprising, a circular wire forming a supporting frame, a stretched single elastic diaphragm extending across said frame and forming at its edge an annular chamber within which said wire is received, said diaphragm having a central bottle-receiving aperture therein, and a plurality of upstanding, annular, concentric wiping ribs on at least one face of said diaphragm and surrounding said bottle-receiving aperture, there being water retaining grooves formed on such face between adjacent ribs.

ALBERT A. JACOBS. 

